Spike Lee Says He’s Already Made Back His Investment In ‘Red Hook Summer’ And Then Some…

Spike Lee Says He's Already Made Back His Investment In 'Red Hook Summer' And Then Some...

Time is flying on by, as the theatrical release date for Spike Lee’s latest work, Red Hook Summer, fast approaches. August 10 to be exact, almost exactly 2 months from today; it seems like it was just yesterday that I saw the film at the Sundance Film Festival, where it caused a bit of a stir (my review HERE if you missed it).

I expect Spike to soon begin the usual PR campaign that accompanies most film releases; that is if he hasn’t already, with this GQ interview, posted on their site earlier today.

I certainly hope I get a chance to interview him as well, leading up to the film’s release.

But in the meantime… we’ll run with the GQ piece, in which he reveals a few interesting items to note.

First, in response to the first question about the origins of Red Hook Summer (RHS), Spike had this to say:

Well Red Hook Summer is a writing collaboration between myself and a great novelist, James McBride. Over breakfast we were bemoaning the state of African American cinema and I told him I just bought a camera, this new Sony F3 camera, and said we should write something. One thing led into another and the product was Red Hook Summer.

So he shot RHS with the Sony F3 then. We already knew that he co-wrote the script with McBride, who Spike has said was responsible for the religious aspects of the story, telling GQ…

James McBride’s parents actually founded the church we shot in. Unlike him, I did not grow up in the church. The only time I went to church was when my parents shipped me and my siblings’ black asses down South to spend the summer with our grandparents to get rid of us. James and I have a different perspective growing up as far as going to church, and we wanted to incorporate young people in this film. You have this thing where a young, black, middle-class teenager growing up in the suburbs of Atlanta has a father die while serving in Afghanistan. His mom, who really raised him, then sends him to the Hook.

And when asked about his so-called “epic Sundance rant” that really wasn’t all that epic… Spike said:

Well here’s the thing, though: If I had to do that over, I would have just taken out a couple motherfuckers. But I wasn’t lying though!

Hah!

The interviewer suggests that Spike is “stepping into Tyler Perry’s realm by making a religious film,” which I thought was silly, and Spike did as well, replying…

There’s a lot of religion in Jungle Fever, Ozzie Davis is the good reverend doctor. There is a lot of religion in Malcolm X. So my man don’t have the domain on religion and those films were made before he started making films. He’s kind of bogarted it now, but it’s not his private domain. Religion isn’t just for one filmmaker, or one novelist, or one playwright.

And when asked why, of all the films he could make, he chose this particular film to put his own money into, Spike said:

I’m not trying to get a medal or pat on the back when I say that I financed this myself. It’s just what needed to be done. Studios were not going to make this film.

And further, a revelation that I had to stop and ponder, Spike added:

Here’s the thing, though: I got my money back already from Red Hook Summer, and then some. All before the film has even opened.

Well then… of course I’m wondering how exactly that happened, and the only thing that makes any sense is that money was made via the deal with Variance Films to release the film theatrically, as well as Image Entertainment picking up non-theatrical rights to the film, and potential foreign rights sold to international territories (recall the film was shopped at the Cannes Film Market last month, screened privately for international distributors; so maybe it was sold to a few).

But that’s obviously wonderful for Spike, I’m sure, that he’s made his money back and then some, before the film has even opened! That leaves one question I’d love an answer to: what was the film’s budget?

Spike then went on to talk about all the projects he wanted to make but couldn’t, primarily due to a lack of financing – the James Brown biopic with Wesley Snipes, Brooklyn Loves Michael Jackson, and…

… the Jackie Robinson movie for a long time and then someone else is doing that. I worked a year on a great script written by John Ridley on the LA riots, but couldn’t get that financed. Worked a long time on a James Brown script, could not get that financed. Wesley Snipes was going to play the Godfather of Soul. So it’s been a question of finance.

But he’s busy as he notes in the interview, with a documentary on the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’sBad album, the Go Brazil Go documentary we’ve told you about, the Mike Tyson one-man who coming to Broadway later this year, and…

… then we got, God willing, Oldboy coming up in the fall…

When the interviewer asks him what the hold-up is on Oldboy, Spike states…

Waiting for the green light. Josh Brolin…My man from District 9, Sharlto Copley… You know they’re still trying to get the numbers straight, but I think it’s going to happen.

Let’s hope so, despite the fact that many-a-fanboy/girl has expressed concern for a Spike Lee-directed Oldboy.

Good stuff all around however; if you’d like to read the full interview, click HERE.